Luang Phor Daeng (Wat Kao Ban Dai It)

Luang Phor DaengWat Kao Ban Dai It

In Petchaburi province in the South Eastern part of Thailand, there was a famous guru monk known as Luang Phor Daeng. He is also known by his official title of Phra Kru Yan Wila. Luang Phor Daeng was born in B.E.2421 (1878), under the sign of the Cock, in Petchaburi province. He was one of twelve children in a poor peasant family. He spent his childhood in a farm, helping his parents. All throughout his life, from his time as a commoner, to becoming a monk, a Buddhist master and until his passing, he was always known as Daeng. Daeng means red in Thai. He decided never to change his name so as to honour his parents.

Due to severe poverty, his parents were unable to afford the expense of sending him to school. When he was 20 years old, Daeng was sent to a local Buddhist school. During that era, Buddhist schools in rural areas would often undertake the responsibility of providing poor young children with an education.

The following year, Daeng aged 21, under the influence of Buddhist culture, was ordained as a monk at Wat Kao Ban Dai It. A new chapter of his life began. He spent the next 38 years of monastic life in self-improvement and cultivation. Like most Buddhist monks, he lived a quiet life of reciting scriptures and studying the Dhamma.

LP Daeng was a very close disciple of LP Plian, the Abbot of Wat Kao Ban Dai It. When LP Plian passed away in B.E.2461 (1918), LP Daeng assumed the role of Abbot at the age of 40. He continued to study the Dhamma and Wicha (supernatural arts) under LP Chui of Wat Kong Karam, often considered to be the greatest guru monk from Petchaburi province. In the year B.E.2477 (1934), LP Daeng’s popularity grew when he used his knowledge of Wicha and cultivated power to save many lives during a severe epidemic that inflicted severe losses to the local farming community. A massive number of livestock and domestic animals were stricken with a deadly plague. Cows could not work on the fields and livestock could not be used as food. The livelihood of the already poor community was in serious jeopardy. The villagers were in a state of panic and despair. Seeing their plight, LP Daeng came to their rescue.

LP Daeng made numerous talismans for the farmers and instructed them to place the talismans inside the cages of the sick animals. The sick animals quickly recovered, seemingly aided by these talismans. News of this spread and farmers from other villages also came to ask for his talismans. LP Daeng rose in popularity and his talismans became well known for being able to overcome all types of disasters.

From then on, Wat Kao Ban Dai It flourished. Worshippers and devotees came pouring in with offerings. His charitable deeds earned him a reputation which traveled far and wide. Amulets consecrated by Luang Phor Daeng are widely known to have helped save countless lives from traffic accidents. It is reported that no victims of road deaths have ever been found to have been wearing LP Daeng's amulets.

In B.E.2502 (1959), Luang Phor Daeng was conferred the title of Buddhist Fan (representing the rank and grade of contributions conferred to Thailand Buddhist teachers) by the present King of Thailand. He was also conferred the Buddhist title of Phra Kru Yan Wila. Phra Kru means a Buddhist teacher qualified to preach the Buddhist scriptures.

The following are some case studies of Luang Phor Daeng’s efficacious talismans :

1) In the year B.E.2507 (1964), an American couple visiting Thailand heard about Luong Phor Daeng's supernatural powers. Out of curiosity, they visited Wat Kao Ban Dai It. Before leaving the temple, LP Daeng personally gave them two bronze amulets of himself. Pleased to receive the gifts, the American couple left happily, without any knowlege of the amulets' powerful effects. They only wished that it would bring them joy and happiness. On their journey home, LP Daeng's amulets gave them a demonstration of their protective powers but the price for it was a terrifying experience. The car that they traveled in overturned and fell into a dangerous narrow ravine. All the other passengers were admitted into hospital with serious injuries except for them. They suffered only minor injuries and were treated as out-patients. They had a strong feeling that it was LP Daeng's amulets that saved their lives so they decided to postpone their return flight in order to get a few more amulets for their family. Incredibly, the flight which they cancelled crashed the next day with 71 passengers on board. There were no survivors. The couple realized that LP Daeng's amulets has helped them avert two major disasters.

2) In 1969 when North and South Vietnam were at war, the son of an American GI was living in an army camp with a group of Thai soldiers. One day, the soldiers were ordered to relocate due to the tenseness of the situation. One of the Thai commanders stationed there had known this smart Eurasian boy for awhile and had become quite fond of him. Before he left, he took one of the amulets he was wearing and gave it to the boy to wear. A few days later, he returned to find the camp in utter ruins. The camp had encountered heavy enemy artillery which killed every single person in the camp except for the Eurasian boy. He was wearing an amulet of LP Daeng.

3) Another interesting and unbelievable event happened in B.E.2513 (1970). A working man named Naiwen was attending a friend’s dinner party. Everybody was in high spirits and drinking heavily. During the climax, a drunk young man wanted to show-off his newly bought pistol so he pulled it out. Naiwen was shocked to see that it was waving directly at his face. He tried to get the intoxicated youth to put away his weapon but just as he opened his mouth and was about to speak, the gun went off and Naiwen fell to the ground. Everyone charged at the drunken youth and snatched the gun away. Though nobody knew exactly where the bullet had penetrated Naiwen, there was no doubt that Naiwen was dead, lying on the ground with his eyes wide open. However, he was not dead. He pointed his fingers at his mouth and opened it slowly. Blood came gushing out and four front teeth were gone. Naiwen appeared to have been shot in the mouth but was somehow not seriously injured.

Naiwen gradually came to his senses. He spat out the broken teeth but could not find the bullet. Logically speaking, when a bullet is fired through the mouth, it is expected to penetrate the throat. In this case, not only was there no fatality, there was not even any serious injury except for the loss of four front teeth. The next day, Naiwen went for an x-ray examination. Miraculously, the bullet was found lying safely in his stomach. It was incomprehensible and beyond explanation. Naiwen told his friends that he was wearing a Luang Phor Daeng amulet and it had saved his life.

4) Another well reported event is the incident of a parachutist who jumped from a plane but his chutes failed to deploy. Incredibly, a strong prevailing wind blew him safely into a swamp and he managed to survive. He was wearing a LP Daeng Somdej amulet.

5) In WWII, LP Daeng created and presented his Pha Yants (magic cloths) and Takruts (magic metal scrolls) to soldiers and people. When Japanese troops landed in Pra Chuab Kiri Khan Province which borders Petchburi, a small group of soldiers and patriots fought them fiercely but remained completely unharmed due to LP Daeng's amulets.

For almost 40 years LP Daeng's amulets have been proven time and time again to be some of the most efficacious amulets of the modern era, providing the wearer with Klaew Klaad (free from all harm and danger) and Kong Kraphan Chatri (invulnerability against weapons).

Besides the miraculous and unexplainable accounts stated above, Petchburi province in Thailand was also notoriously violent, with many gangland conflicts settled with shootouts. It is said that LP Daeng's amulets acted like an invisible force field with making bullets unable to penetrate flesh. Numerous miraculous incidents were reported and prices of his amulets rose rapidly. LP Daeng released many batches of amulets right up to B.E.2517 (1974) before he passed on. He passed away at 96 years old having served Buddhism for 76 years. The coffin with his remains is still at Wat Kao Ban Dai It. Throngs of people continue to visit the temple to honour and pay their repects to this legendary monk.